Job Hunting with Online Resume's | Online job application protocols

Web sites like The Monster Board, Career Mosaic and the On-line Career Center receive up to 150,000 hits a day from people perusing thousands of job postings and resumes. And most major newspapers have put their help-wanted ads online.

Monster.com warns of ID theft February 28, 2003
Monster.com is warning its customers that some job postings may be fakes intended to collect personal information for identity theft. Monster.com advises not to give out any information not related to a job opening, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and personal information not related to work history. Job search website such as Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com have come under scrutiny for their privacy practices, prompting the Privacy Right Clearinghouse to ask the Federal Trade Commission to investigate alleged abuses such as selling email addresses and registration information to third parties. Careerbuilder.com offers differing security levels to its customers, and spokeswoman Jennifer Sullivan said she didn't know of any identity theft complaints, though she did not rule out the possibility. "http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/labor/story/0,10801,78929,00.html

When sending resumes online, send one in ASCII or plain text format with a file attachment of a Microsoft Word or WordPerfect document

Recruiters want to see resumes that fit on one printed page, it's OK to provide a link to a personal Web page for the employer to look through, as long as it will help -- not hurt you.

Make a perfect first impression with resume and cover letter, it's your first contact with the company. Misspellings, grammatical errors, smudges and a poor print job will hurt your chances.

Tell the truth. Listing false degrees or job experiences can be grounds for termination later on.

Be straightforward with the data.

Don't use brightly colored paper.

Don't get carried away and list all possible skills

Don't say proficient if you only have some exposure to it.

Send both a cover letter and resume with the online application.

Before e-mailing the resume to the company, send a copy to yourself first to make sure the format and font show up.

Call or e-mail the company within a week to make sure they have received the application, but don't be a pest.

HOW YOUR RESUME GETS SELECTED

To get your resume noticed, plug in buzzwords for the job opening, whether or not you're applying online. Because employers receive thousands of resumes, many Fortune 1000 companies' computers scan them for certain key words to narrow their search.

Resumes containing the words sought -- such as C++ for a computer programming job -- will be retained and gradually narrowed down to a pool of candidates that the company can handle.

A biotech firm, for instance, may scan for the word ``DNA sequencing'' in resumes of candidates applying for a research associate or scientist position thenthe company will fine-tune the search to include words like ``biology degree'' and ``chemistry degree'' or ``master of science.''

When the pool is sufficiently narrowed, recruiters then look at the individual resumes for work experience, skills and other factors.

The most relevant work and academic experience should be highlighted.
A college graduate without years of experience in the field would do well to emphasize any academic achievements, internships or part-time jobs. A high grade-point average should be listed as well.

THE INTERVIEW

There is no excuse - Know the company.
With the Internet making research easy, candidates have no excuse for not finding out about their prospective employers.

research the company's business, culture and goals to prepare for the one-on-one meeting.

Dress conservatively.

dark-colored suits for men and women, preferably navy blue.

Look Your Best. Look neat.

Men should trim beards, no earrings

Women no perfume, no big jewelry, panty hose is a must.

Show up a little early for the interview.

Have a firm handshake and look them in the eye.

Recruiters will hire someone they feel comfortable with.

No canned answers, don't be slick, don't oversell yourself and have specific examples to back it up.

After the interview, send a thank-you note within a day or two of the meeting reiterating your interest in and appropriateness for the job.

BE READY

You should be prepared for some standard queries like:

Describe how you handled a challenge.

Describe how you would start a new project.

Describe one of your successes..

What are the top 3 things most important to you in a job?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Do you prefer teams or working more independently?

Why do you want to leave your current position

Why do you think you are a good fit for this position?

What do you bring to the table?

You should also have your own list of questions ready. Ask things like:

Tell me about one of your current projects.

What do you like most about working at X?

What do you like least about working at X?

How long have you been at X?

Why did you join X?

What is the organizational structure?

Is there any kind of rotational position so new employees can get to know different aspects of the organization?

Is there any kind of mentoring program?

For any kind of technical interview, know your stuff but don't try to BS what you don't know. If it's a programming position, be prepared to code on the spot. Bring examples of work products like designs, reports etc. It's always good to have a portfolio of some kind.

Other questions:

What is the last technical book you read?

Be well prepared to answer questions about yourself and your resume. And just be yourself. It's normal and natural to be nervous. Just take a few deep breaths at different times to calm and slow things down.

FIND A JOB
FIRST LEVEL

Students search the web for summer jobs.

Studentjobs.gov, federal government operates a job site,focused on younger workers.

GrooveJob.com, Teens4Hire.org, generally list high-turnover, entry-level jobs, many of which are geared toward students and others looking for seasonal employment and flexible hours to fit their schedules.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
They publish salary information for both the U.S. and by state, in cooperation with each state's unemployment insurance division. Look for the Occupational Employment Survey, both at the BLS and via the New York state government's employment office. The latter will give within-state breakdowns by Metropolitan Statistical Area, using on the same data provided to the Feds for aggregation in larger geographic units. EXCELLENT resource, and nobody can argue that it isn't authoritative. Another BLS resource is the Occupational Outlook Handbook, which provides standardized job descriptions, job creation/growth rate projections, educational requirements, skills used, and non-BLS salary information for every occupation code defined by the federal government. The latter may be helpful despite its very general content.

Economic Research Institute
They publish analyses and time-series forecasts of salary information based on data from the U.S Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Although full reports must be purchased, many free services are available online, including statistically valid, projected salaries for TODAY by job title and Metropolitan Statistical Area within state. U.S. data only. Job titles match those from BLS, and include technical writers.

Society for Technical Communication
They publish an annual salary survey for technical writing positions in both the U.S. and Canada. U.S. results are broken down as far as the first two digits of zip code; both U.S. and Canadian data are broken out by region. Note that these surveys are credible enough to be cited by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in their Occupational Outlook Handbook. You can compare STC's prior-year surveys with the current one and get an idea of salary growth rates by region, education level, experience level, etc.